'Sole Food

'Sole Food: Volume 2, Issue 12: The Flashback Issue

Raymond flashes back to 2001 when he saw one of the most influential games of this generation for the very first time.

I remember it vividly. I first saw it on February 15, 2001 at the Sony Metreon. Everyone in attendance was thoroughly impressed and very much surprised. My pal, ex-IGN editor Dave Zdyrko, looked at me and gasped, "Where did this come from?!?" The game was Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. It was easily my favorite title of 2001, but I had no idea it would be one of the most influential games in its generation.

The idea for this edition of 'Sole Food came to me the weekend before last. I was playing the hell out of X-Men Legends and chatting about it with my roommate, ex-GameSpy editor Christian Nutt. (In case you were wondering, the local game writers pretty much just hang out with each other. We're lame like that.) He's well aware of my love of action-RPGs and we started chatting about all the games that tried to mimic the excitement of Dark Alliance. And boy there's a lot of them out there.

Who knew that Dark Alliance would spawn so many copycats?

At first, most of the copycats were similar dungeon crawlers set in various fantasy worlds. There's Dungeons & Dragons Heroes, EverQuest: Champions of Norrath, and the various titles based on The Lord of the Rings. Seeing as how the fantasy world was getting crowded, developers moved (or are moving) onto World War II and comic-book settings. And you know the genre is a mad success when The Bard's Tale came along to poke fun at many of the action-RPG trappings. It's almost like how a musician has truly made it when "Weird" Al Yankovic parodies their song.

Right about now you're probably thinking, "Gee Raymond, you're quite astute and very handsome." You're also thinking, "When did action-RPGs become the new yellow?" While I can't provide statistical evidence of why the sub-genre burgeoned the way it did, I have a pair of theories.

Perhaps this frost giant knew he was destined for greatness.

Many RPG Fans Ran Out of Time -- This is certainly the case for me. As I got older and settled into a career (no matter how ridiculous it is), it became more difficult to devote time to a 40-hour RPG. Whether it's a job or dating or a family, gamers eventually have more commitments to honor, which makes traditional console RPGs troublesome to complete.

Still, nothing else out there really appealed to me the way an RPG did. My favorite thing about RPGs is developing characters and taking them on a successful, story-driven adventure. (I'm supportive and nurturing. Sue me.) Dark Alliance allowed me to spend a decent amount of time leveling up a character (ball lightning baby!), while giving me the quick and easy satisfaction of kicking ass with her.